Crimea
by the Anastasia Collection
Summary: [ANASTASIA] By Ashley. The Royal Family takes an outing. Pre-movie. ©98. Plz read&review, thx!


**"The Crimea" **   
by Ashley 

Summary: [ANASTASIA] The Royal Family takes an outing. Pre-movie. ©98. Plz read&review, thx!   
~*~ 

The Crimea, the large peninsula in the warm Black Sea, has been to many people, an earthly heaven. To the weary traveler, who has spent hour after hour looking at the Ukrainian steppe, the scenery of the Crimea is breathtakingly beautiful. Rugged mountain peeks rise above the blue and green waters. On the Hailga mountain range, there are forests of tall pines. 

In the valleys and along the sea cliffs, there are groves of cypress trees, vineyards, villages and pastures. No ball or party was complete without a railcar load of fresh flowers from the Crimea or Crimean wine. The climate was mild all year, but in the spring... flowers bloomed like they never had before. It made the whole peninsula a perfumed heaven. Apple, peach and cherry trees opened beautiful blossoms. Grapes of all manner could be picked along the road. 

The place was a beautiful heaven for those who had estates there. Including the Imperial family. They had a palace there, named Livadia. It was made of marble, designed in a Renaissance style. The palace had been built to replace an old wooden one in 1911, and it was the Imperial family's favorite. 

"Oh, you come back with that!" yelled 18-year-old Olga Nicholaievna. She hitched up her long white-lace spring dress as she ran along the marble halls of Livadia. She was chasing after 5-year-old Anastasia, who had grabbed her eldest sister's bathing suit and ran off with it. That little imp! 

The two raced through the marble halls and up staircases. At one point Anastasia stopped in her tracks, turned around and stuck her tongue out at Olga. Then she took off once again. 

Suddenly, Anastasia bumped into something and fell back onto the floor. "And where would you be going?" Anastasia looked up and saw her father, Czar Nicholas II standing there. A look of surprise came over the little girl's face. 

Olga finally reached them. "Papa, she grabbed my bathing suit and ran off with it." 

"And why would you be doing that?," asked Nicholas. 

"Because I just wanted to have fun, Papa," replied the youngest Grand Duchess. 

Nicholas chuckled and said, "Give it back to Miss Olga, apologize and then you two can go get ready for swimming. Your Aunt Olga is here, too, and is anxious to see you, so hurry." Anastasia apologized and the two ran for their rooms to get ready. 

~*~ 

"What a lovely day, Nicky!" said Olga Alexandrovna, the Czar's sister as she, the Czar, and his five children gathered on the beach. The day _was_ lovely, although the waves were a bit rough. The sun was shining and the water was clear as crystal. The perfect day. "I shall stay on the beach with Alexei," continued Olga Alexandrovna. The rest of them jumped right into the Black Sea. They had a great deal of fun swimming, racing, all sorts of water games. The sea was warm. 

Suddenly, a large wave rolled over the Czar and his daughters. Nicholas and the three eldest rose to the crest, but Anastasia disappeared. Olga Alexandrovna went cold with terror, but Czarevich Alexei didn't see what was wrong and clapped is hands. "Nicky!," called the Czar's sister, "Anastasia is missing!" 

Nicholas heard her, but was already in action. He dived under the water and saw his youngest daughter and grabbed her by her long auburn hair and pulled her up. Olga Alexandrovna breathed a sigh of relief. 

Nicholas brought Anastasia back to the beach and the other trailed after them. "Are you all right, little imp?," asked Nicky. Anastasia nodded. "Good." Then he addressed the others. "I believe this to be a healthy exercise so much, that perhaps we shall have an saltwater bath put indoors. That way wind nor waves could get to us and affect swimming." Everyone liked the idea. 

"Perhaps we had better go back inside for the afternoon," suggested Olga Alexandrovna. Everyone agreed on that. 

~*~ 

The next morning, the Czar and his daughters went into the woods to pick berries and mushrooms. The forest was dark and cool. 

"Papa!" "Papa!" 7-year-old Marie and her younger sis Anastasia ran up to their father to show them their mushrooms. "Mine's the biggest!" said Marie. "No! Mine is!" retorted Anastasia. 

Nicholas replied, "They're both very big, children! I do believe they are the same size. Even if they weren't the same size, we would have had it cooked anyway. Put them in your baskets and we shall continue on." The girls did that and ran on ahead. 

"Remember when _we_ used to fight over the biggest mushroom, Olga?" said Tatiana. 

"Of course! But I know I always had the biggest." 

"You did not!" 

Meanwhile, Nicholas, Marie and Anastasia had gone ahead and saw an abandoned cottage. "Oh, look, Papa! A cottage!" exclaimed Anastasia. She and Marie ran up to the porch and looked in a window. 

"No one lives here, Papa!," said Marie after Nicholas had warned them not to look in, "There are cobwebs and dust inside!" Nicholas smiled and laughed at his daughter's logic. Anastasia pushed the old wood door open and the three trooped inside. Olga and Tatiana stayed on the porch. 

Inside, Marie and Anastasia found an old trunk that was locked. "Oh, look! A fireplace!," squealed Anastasia. She went over to it, despite warnings from her sister and father. She stuck her head under the chimney. She had recently learned birds sometimes built nests in the chimneys of abandoned houses. She called up the chimney, "Hello? Anybody home?" 

The answer was a cloud of soot and dirt that rained down on the unfortunate child's head, hair, and face. She let out a shriek that could have been heard clear to China! Then she recovered and backed out of the fireplace. The sight of soot and dirt on her head and shoulders sent Nicholas and Marie in a laughing frenzy. Anastasia's face went red and the walked out of the cabin. 

Tatiana and Olga had wondered what in the world that was and when they saw her, they too, burst into laughter. Olga, through her laughs, used her handkerchief to wipe the soot off of Anastasia's face. 

~*~ 

That evening, the Czar, the Empress, their children and the Empress' best friend, Anna Viroubova, gathered on a balcony. The Empress and Anna Viroubova sat on chaise lounges with Alexei , the Czar, Olga and Tatiana sat in white whicker chairs, and the youngest girls sat on the marble floor, painting. A warm wind blew over the balcony, bringing with it the scent of roses and violets and salty sea air. 

"Did you and Ania have a good time in town today?," asked Nicholas. He pasted a photograph in a green album. 

The Empress smiled (which was really rather rare outside of her family) and said, "Oh, yes, Nicky, we did. You would not believe what happened at a store. You do know it was a bit wet this morning and Ania and I went inside. I closed my umbrella and it made a puddle on the floor. Well, the salesman told me that there was a rack for umbrellas that I should put it in there. I did. Later on, Ania mentioned who I was in conversation and only then did the man know who his customer was!" At that, the group had a hearty laugh. "He was very nervous after that, if you can imagine." 

A bit later, it was time for bed and Marie and Anastasia went to their room. Their father came to tuck them in. "I had fun today, Papa," said Marie. Anastasia echoed she did too. 

"Good, darlings. Now say your prayers and then go to sleep. Tomorrow, we shall go pony riding! Good night." The girls said good night to their father, said their prayers and fell asleep. 

The wind blew in their slightly open windows, and brought the scent of salt from the sea. Sweet dreams, tonight. __

... 

ANASTASiA™ is copyright of 20thC.Fox, etc. ^_^ 

PS. Believe it or not, this is a work of fiction. All the incidents, names, and characters are imaginary.   
Any resemblence to actual persons etc, living or dead, is completely coincidental. ^_~ 

written by Ashley ©98, edited by SimbiAni™ ©2G4 


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